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Caitlin Clark said the Indiana Fever’s missed opportunities over the season “hurt a little bit” after the team was eliminated by the Las Vegas Aces in Game 3 of the 2026 WNBA first round. The Aces won 94–83 on October 1, ending Indiana’s season and leaving Clark reflecting on how the Fever might have entered the postseason in a better position.
What Clark meant by “hurts a little bit”
Clark was looking back at the Fever’s season and the chances they felt they had let slip—not blaming the playoff loss on one play. “A lot of really good moments. A lot of tough moments, too, where we felt we probably gave a lot of opportunities away,” she said. “It’s what hurts a little bit. We could’ve put ourselves in a better spot going into the postseason.”
Clark also said she was proud of the group and that the team had weathered a lot, including the outside attention and scrutiny around its performances. Her comments came after Indiana’s first-round elimination, as reported by Associated Press sports writer Mark Anderson on October 2, 2026.
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The Fever finished the regular season 4–4 and entered the playoffs as the sixth seed. They faced the third-seeded Aces, who won the best-of-three first-round series by taking Game 3, 94–83, on October 1. The matchup is the context for Clark’s regret: she said Indiana could have put itself in a better position before the postseason, not that seeding alone explains the elimination.
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Indiana’s strong start did not last
Indiana scored 31 points in the first quarter, then scored no more than 18 in each of the final three quarters, according to the AP account. The Fever twice cut the fourth-quarter deficit to two points but could not complete the comeback.
Clark scored 11 points in the opening quarter and seven afterward. Her shooting shifted along with the team’s scoring: she made 4 of 7 field-goal attempts and 3 of 6 three-pointers in the first, then went 2 of 11 from the field and 0 of 6 from three over the rest of the game. Those splits describe the change in her scoring across the game; they do not, by themselves, establish why Indiana lost.
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A different ending from the previous season
The AP report noted that Clark was sidelined by injuries when Indiana’s season ended against the Aces the previous year. In 2026, she played in Game 3. The report does not provide further medical detail, so it does not establish a diagnosis or say anything about her future availability.
What happened after a fourth-quarter hit
Asked why no foul was called after a fourth-quarter hit to her face, Clark replied, “Your guess would be as good as mine.” The AP report said she had a bloody mouth and appeared to handle a loose tooth at the postgame news conference; it did not confirm a dental injury.
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Source
Game score, seeding, season record, game figures and Clark’s comments are attributed to Mark Anderson’s Associated Press report, published October 2, 2026, and republished by WDIV / ClickOnDetroit.
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